I don’t know if I have five things today. I feel kind of stagnant today. I tried to create with my pastels, something I have been making a more or less daily habit, but instead of something that looked almost like art, I ended up with a muddy mess. I relegated those pages to the trash can. Still, it hasn’t been a wash-out for the day–yet.

The first of my five things (hopefully) are ways I’m preparing for the Advent and Christmas season.

1. The Sacred Ordinary Days daily planner. I have used this planner off and on for several years. I like that it is dated. There are options for daily pages and weekly pages in a two-page spread. I use the daily planner. It is organized around the church liturgical year. This year, Advent begins on December 3, the first Sunday in Advent. Advent ends on the evening of December 24, Christmas Eve. Each day’s page has the lectionary readings for that day as well as a breath prayer at the top of the page. There are three spaced for the top three priorities for the day, some lined spaced for listing, journaling, appointments, etc. And there is white space for filling in (or not) as you please.
2. Liz Lamareaux’s Here: Five Things, the December edition. Each day, Liz sends an email with a prompt for making a list of things. Today’s prompt is to list five things to hold close during the month of December.
3. Shimelle Laine’s Journal Your Christmas. I’ve been doing this class off and on for several years. I have not filled a book yet, but that’s okay. I pick and choose the things I want to focus on. Sometimes, I just write about the prompt in my regular journal. Christmas is a difficult season for me. I think it’s because we try to cram everything into twenty-five days. Some days there is too much to do. That makes me anxious. I am hoping that between the Five Things and JYC classes, I can slow down and savor the Christmas season.
4. Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year, by Beth Kempton. I used an Audible credit to get this book. I will be listening a little each day.
5. This last thing is not so much in preparation for the season, but to give me some inspiration and space to write. I am listening to Beth Kempton’s The Fearless Writer podcast. Each episode have a short talk at the beginning on some aspect of writing and “mindfulness” around writing. She provides a spark to think about–a poem, quote, or something along that line and then a writing exercise. I hope this will keep me writing.

So, I did have five things for the gray late fall afternoon.